The present disclosure relates broadly to a personal safety system for vehicles. In one exemplary embodiment, the safety system comprises body-protective gear, such as a bicycle helmet, and means for restricting operation of a pedal-propelled bicycle in the event the helmet is not used, or is improperly applied to the head and/or inadequately secured.
According to a study published in the OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS (PEDIATRICS Vol. 112 No. 2 Aug. 2003, pp. 320-323), ninety-six percent of children and adolescents wore helmets in inadequate condition and/or with inadequate fit. This occurred despite a high acceptance of helmet use by this population. Other medical studies suggest that a high percentage of cyclists' brain injuries can be prevented by a properly worn helmet—estimated at anywhere from 45 to 88 percent. About 540,000 bicyclists visit emergency rooms with injuries every year; and of these, 784 died on US roads in 2005.
Many years of potential life are lost because about half of the deaths are children under 15 years of age. Direct costs of cyclists' injuries due to not using helmets are estimated at $81 million each year, while indirect costs are estimated at $2.3 billion each year.